


Of Coffee and Romance

by PennyNamette



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-16
Updated: 2013-01-15
Packaged: 2017-11-25 16:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/641012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PennyNamette/pseuds/PennyNamette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a three year journey, Inuyasha is finally returning to Tokyo for closure. After finding out he was evicted from his old apartment, he's offered to stay with Sesshomaru, who he meets at a coffee house. But, who is Sesshomaru really?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Japan

When Inuyasha got off the plane and out of the port, the air was chilly and snow was covering the ground thickly, unlike in Los Angelos. Breathing deeply in, he smiled out how the air bit at his nose and reveled in familiar Japan weather.

Just at the time expected, his phone rang playing Pogo's "Dayvd". He pressed the touch screen's 'answer' button, not having to look at the ID to know who it was. He put the device to his eye, walking away from the hustle and bustle of the sidewalk.

"Hey, babe." He answered, smiling to himself. He heard some paper's shuffling on the other line, probably from Kouga trying to sort out a place to sit while he was on the phone. Their apartment back home was a mess.

"Hey, did you make it to Japan okay?" Kouga was, as always, straight to the point. It got him into trouble a lot, but that was one of the many reasons why Inuyasha loved him.

"Yeah, I made it okay. The plane was late 'cause of the snow but-"

"Woah, they have snow there?"

"Yeah dumbass, of course they have snow," he laughed, finding the shock in his fiancee's voice extremely amusing. "You see here, we actually have seasons like the other countries. Ya know, the normal ones?"

"Oi, America is a normal country, don't mack on my home nation."

"Whatever man. How are you holding up without me?" He wrapped his thick trench coat tighter around himself, feeling a particularly strong gust of wind. The sky looked like it might snow again.

"I'm absolutely miserable." Inuyasha laughed, thinking him melodramatic.

"No, I'm serious. I have no idea why you chose to vacation in Japan but you know you could turn back around, get back on the plane and come back now, I'll pay for it so please?" It was weird, he actually sounded sad he was away, which made Inuyasha's heart warm. But he wasn't gonna tell him that, least he finds some leaverage to try and convince him to actually go back.

"I told you why I'm here, remember? It'll only be for maybe a couple weeks, tops, until I find what I'm looking for." He heard Kouga sigh on the other side, and he fought of the strong urge to feel bad about it.

"Yeah, I know. But I just don't understand why it's so important to you. But since it is, I'll respect it."

"Thank you, babe, I appreciate that." He honestly did, too.

"Don't worry about, just- just try to be as quick as you can, okay? I really do miss you."

"I know, Kouga. I promise, I'll be home as soon as I'm done, and I'll be home before you know it."

"...Okay, I trust you. Be safe."

"I will be. Bye."

"Bye"

He hung up the phone, and he stared at his phone for a minute or two, feeling bad despite his efforts against it.

He loved Kouga and he didn't want to do anything to make him anything but happiness- it was pretty much his goal in life. But that's why he was here, in Japan. The place his journey started, the journey that led him to his fiancee.

He was in Japan now to end that journey, officially. He'd always feel like he was searching if he didn't, and now that he was settling down in a life with someone, he needed closure. And there was only one way he would find closure.

He had to find out who he was.

It was High School when he found out about Joji Takagawa, the famous Romance novelist. He was eating at lunch when Kagome and Sango literally flew into the seats in front of him.

He waited for them to say something, as it looked like they were dying to, but after a good moment of silence he sighed and spoke first.

"Okay, what is it?"

They giggled, like girls do when they had an interesting secret he guessed, and pulled out a book in Kagome's book bag. The cover was exactly anyone would expect from a romance novel, with an overly beautiful girl and an overly handsome guy embracing in the heat of love and passion. The only thing that was different from this one and the rest was there was no raging ocean beyond steep cliff, or something like that. The Title read, "Touched By Sunlight".

"What the hell is that?" he asked, disappointed that it was only a book and not some huge scandal like they usually had.

"That" Kagome started, emphasizing while pointing at the book. "Is thebest book you will ever read."

"You say that like I'm going to read it."

"And you will," Sango joined in. "You can't possibly not read it. It's just not- well, not possible."

"Are you challenging me?"

"Look, Inuyasha." Kagome butted in, before Sango had a chance to say 'Yeah, maybe it is' and things got that much more hectic. "It's a really good book, and I really mean it! I know you have your issues with romance in love-"

"You see that's were you're wrong, because it's impossible to have problems with something that doesn't exist." Kagome's jaw visibly clenched and he figured he might have gone a little to far with that one. He already knew what Kagome thought about his stance on love, and he really didn't want to get into another one of those arguments. But she left it alone, and instead continued on like he hadn't interrupted in the first place.

"But I think that this book will change your view on that. Maybe you'll be able to see what's so great about it, after you read this book. So, please take it and give it a chance."

He didn't look up to her, hoping eating his food and ignoring the topic would get her to move away from it. She sighed, and for a minute he hoped he had gotten exactly what he hoped for. Instead, Sango spoke up.

"If you read the book, I'll do your Japanese homework for a month."

"Deal."

"What do you mean it's 'rented out'?!"

"I'm sorry sir, but it is what it is." The receptionist man said, not bothering to look up at Inuyasha and flipping through a magazine that looked suspiciously like a Playboy from his angle.

"It is what it is my ass, I want my apartment back!" He was struggling to keep his voice down and stay calm, but that was all rather difficult when someone just told you your apartment was gone. "It was on a four year lease, I was only gone for three!"

Sighing, the man reached over and flipped through a binder of notices and memos, stopping to read one. "Well, it looks here that, since you wee gone so long they sent a notice to your apartment saying that if you didn't respond within the month, they would evict you and open the place back up to rent." he turned back to his magazine. "that was about two years ago."

"Two years ago?" He hissed, gripping his teeth together to keep from yelling. "How was I supposed to get a notice about me being gone, if I was gone?"

"Look, it's not my problem. You're just going to have to find some other place to stay."

He stared, mouth open with nothing to say coming to mind. This guy was just siting there, not able to give two fucks worth a damn to help him at all, and this was Tokyo for god's sake! He always bragged to Kouga about how much nicer everyone in Japan was compared to the city dwellers in Los Angelos, but now he was wondering if he was wrong after all.

"I..." he said, his anger deflating to what felt horrifically like anxiety. "I have no were else to go."

"Once again." the receptionist said again, though this time sounding slighter more irritated. "Not my problem."

Clenching his teeth against the burn in his eye's and the pressure in his gut, He stayed for only a moment more before turning around and walking- very quickly- out of the door, slamming it shut on his way out.

He swallowed in several deep breaths of cold winter air, trying to cool him down. He was panicking, and he needed to calm down. He needed coffee.

He remembered a place just down the block, a coffee shop that had the best coffee and the greatest atmosphere. He walked, and turned down total of two corners to reach it, and it looked exactly the same as it always had with a Victorian styled wood wall and large glass windows. Walking in was like traveling into another time and country, were the weather outside didn't exist. Unfortunately, his problems still did.

Standing in line to order, his mind reeled over how he was going to stay in japan when he had no place to stay.

It the fucking winter, so no to just bumming in the park. The only people he remembered knowing in Japan was Miroku, Sango, and Kagome but he had no idea where they lived. He'd been keeping up with them online, but in all that time he had never bothered to ask any of them where they lived, or even for their phone number. He could admit, that was pretty freaking stupid of him and he was definitely regretting it.

Finally, he was at the front of the line.

"Cinnamon Bun Latte with extra Caramel." he ordered, reaching in his wallet to pull out a ten dollars worth of yen, being about eight-hundred yen.

"1,200 yen, please," The overly perky cashier asked. His eye's shot up in surprise.

"Wha- 1,200 yen? I don't have that much on me." her smile faltered a little bit, but she waited patiently for him to either hurry and find the money or step out of line. His cheeks lit up, feeling embarrassed and wondering how his day could possibly get and worse. But an arm shot forward from the side of himself, dropping the extra money he needed plus even more.

"wha-," he looked up, seeing a very tall man with a hat like a fedora and a black scarf, and purple-like stripes on either cheek. He was hot, and Inuyasha's heart speed up way faster than it should for an engaged man.

"I'll pay for his, and add a Chai latte."

The cashier girl looked just as relieved as Inuyasha felt, and easily accepted the money and the added order. She ushered them to the side to wait for their orders, putting Inuyasha in an awkward place of having to feel like he should say something to the stranger.

"Thank you." He said, earning a confused look from the other. "For you know, paying for my drink."

Instead of simply saying like "no problem, man" like he expected, he earned a searching look. He felt naked with him staring at him like that, and tightened his coat around himself as if to protect from the others eyes. He noticed and lifted his head to meet Inuyasha's eyes.

"You're welcome." He answered, turning away to look at god knows what. They stayed like that, in perpetual silence, Inuyasha feeling awkward and the stranger looking like he couldn't be any more comfortable.

"Cinnamon Bun Latte with extra Caramel and a Chai latte?"

"Oh, yeah." Inuyasha accepted his drink, the man next to him doing the same. Finally released from the inescapable grasp of awkward silence, he went to find his own table when the guy spoke.

"Would you like to join me?" he asked. Looking back at him, Inuyasha had a moment of hesitation but just nodded his head and followed him to a table near the back.

They sat and it was quiet, Inuyasha quietly sipping on his drink, watching the other instead pull out a leather bound journal and start writing in it, not touching his drink at first.

"Inuyasha, by the way." He said, causing the other to stop writing momentarily and look up in mild confusion.

"That's my name, Inuyasha. I figured since you invited me to sit you might as well know it."

"Hm," he said. "That's very American of you."

"What'dya mean by that?"

"Japanese usually greet with their last names. Usually, it's close friends and family who call you by your first name and not many others." He picked up his cup and sipped silently, while keeping eye contact with him. There was that naked feeling again. "Are you American-raised?"

"Actually, no. I grew up here, but uh, I've never been into all the formal 'rules and etiquette'. Probably why I had not too many friends in school."

Nodding, he looked back down to his journal, making Inuyasha think that the conversation was over until he said, "Sesshomaru."

"Sorry, what?"

"My name is Sesshomaru. Seeing as I know yours, you might as well know mine."

"Oh. Sesshomaru, huh? That's pretty unusual. But I like it, it rolls off the tongue." He smiled and surprisingly, Sesshomaru smiled back. Well sort of, it was tiny and he wasn't sure if it was actually a smirk.

Things got quiet again, like they were bound to do, but this time it wasn't that awkward. Inuyasha silently sipped on his drink and watched the somehow soothing motions of Sesshomaru's hand glide across his pages with a pen. All the while he wondered what he was going to do.

He had no apartment, no car and no people. He was stranded in Tokyo with no were to stay or go, and he didn't bring anything with himself. He figured all his old stuff would be at his apartment, but most likely they were thrown out. It looked at this point that he'd have no choice but to call it quits and fly back to L.A., and never finish what he came to do.

"What's wrong?"

He flinched, startled by the sudden question. He hadn't even noticed that Sesshomaru had stopped writing and was staring at him.

"Nothing, why?"

"Because you have the look of someone who's very distressed." Damn. He really needed to work on controlling his expressions. "So what's wrong?"

"Really," he started, not wanting to dump his baggage on someone else. "It's nothing, you don't need to worry about it."

"Inuyasha."

A chill ran up his spine, his name sounding so terrifying and also seductive at the same time. Sesshomaru was staring at him, intense and demanding, not looking like he'd take a 'no' another time. "I like repeating myself."

Really confused why this man he only met almost ten minutes prior, but not really wanting to take the chance of him getting angry, he decided to just tell him.

"Uh, well, I don't even know how to explain. I came here to Japan for closure, because I've been traveling on a journey in a way, but..." God, he didn't even want to say it.

"I got my apartment here on a lease for four years, and that was three years ago so I should still have it right?" He got a nod in response. "But apparently two years ago, they sent a notice to my apartment saying that if I didn't answer in a month they'd evict me." an understanding 'hmmm' came from Sesshomaru, while he nodded.

"So you don't have a place to stay?"

"No, I don't"

"Do you have any friends or family around?"

"I do, but I have no way of contacting them." He sighed and dropped his head into his hands, resting his elbows on the table. Ugh, everything was such a mess.

"Why do you need closure?" Inuyasha looked up from his hands to Sesshomaru, not expecting a question like that to be honest. And to be honest, he wasn't sure how to explain it without seeming strange.

"Well I need closure for, uh... well, about myself." Sesshomaru gave him a look that said 'elaborate, please', so he did.

"Well, it links to why I started my journey. When I was younger I was dead set on the fact that love didn't exist, and it was all just a fanciful make-believe thing, except everyone really did believe in it. But then in High School, my friends made me read a book called "Touched By Sunlight" by Joji Takagawa."

"Joji Takagawa?" Sesshomaru interrupted, looking surprised, which in turn surprised Inuyasha.

"Yeah, Joji, why?"

"No reason." He answered, but there was a flicker of something in his eye's that flashed by too fast to catch. He would have asked, but Sesshomaru raised his eyebrows for the rest of the story and he forgot all about it.

"Anyway, the title was cheesy and the cover was cheesy and I had no desire what so ever to read this book. But I started it, because of my friends and it was..." he paused, remembering how well the book related to him at the time. "Beautiful. It wasn't cheesy, like I thought it was going to be. It really... hit me you know?"

"So I started believing in love. Not only that, but I craved it. That's when I started traveling, and I took pictures and wrote about all the love I found, some familial and some romantic and some platonic, but all so beautiful and I loved it. I went to Great Britain, to France and Germany, Russia, Korea, Africa, you name it. Then I went to America, and I met Kouga, and I uh, I fell in love."

He blushed a bit, still embarrassed by actually feeling something like love. He may believe in it now, but some habits are too hard to crack in just three years.

"So now I'm settling down with him, in L.A. But before I can do that I just need to do one last thing..." He got quiet, and Sesshomaru waited for him to carry on.

When it looked like he wouldn't continue by himself, he asked, "What do you need to do?"

Looking up, it took him a minute to remember what he was talking about, and started with "Oh, right! I need to find out about my father."

"Your father? Why?"

"I never knew him. He left us so much money, but I never knew him. I don't even know about him." He sighed, looking down at his hands. "I just... I need to know if he loved my mom or not. That's all I want to find out, and then I can be sure because... I piece of me still believes that love is a myth and I need to prove it wrong. But now I might not even get to, because I have no place to stay." He didn't look up and honestly partially forgot he was narrating his life story to some he didn't even know. He was deep in thought and frustration, so much so he missed what Sesshomaru said next.

"What?" He asked.

"Stay with me." Sesshomaru offered. Inuyasha sat there, stunned into silence. He knew the guy was nice, him paying for a drink he had no reason to was proof of that, but being this nice. It had to be a joke.

"Are you serious? Like, Seriously serious?"

Looking annoyed at the question, he scoffed and answered, "Of course I am, why would I say something like that and not mean it?"

Jumping straight up and shocking probably the most emotion Sesshomaru had ever showed into his face, as well as all the other residents in the coffee house, he reached across the table and clasped his hands.

"Thank you, oh my god, thank you!" He kissed his knuckles, actually making Sesshomaru flinch.

"Sit down."He demanded, half sounding like a beg.

He sat down, not because he was embarrassed but because was in such a good mood he would've done anything anyone asked of him and more if they wanted. He was that damn happy.

He had a place to stay, and a goal in mind and god damn it, he was happy.


	2. The Penthouse

He hadn't really thought about what Sesshomaru's place would look like. He didn't know if it was a house, an apartment- which if it was, was going to be complicated because as far as he could remember, Japanese apartments were tiny- or if it was something else entirely. But one thing was sure, he didn't expect him to live in a huge fucking penthouse.

"Holy crap!" he blurted out, looking around the living space around himself. It was so spacious, and looked like it could belong to the Kardashians for god's sake.

"Who are the Kardashians?" Sesshomaru asked, hanging up his coat and hat. He hadn't realized he had all of his hair in his hat, making him think it was really short but actually it was so long it looked like a river of white cascading down his back.

"Who are the who? Oh." He said the Kardashian thing out loud. Whoops. "Um, just this really rich family in America, it doesn't matter." He turned back away and continues gazing at the super expensive place around himself.

The kitchen was huge and spotless, and had a spiral staircase next to it that lead up to a deck that had two doors, one he was pretty sure led to Sesshomaru's bedroom. adjacent to the kitchen was the living room, furnished with a large gray sofa, a cherry wood coffee table and an expensive looking flat screen TV.

"Are you rich?" He asked, genuinely curious. He himself was raised rather privileged but Sesshomaru didn't strike him as the prestigious type. Sure he totally acted like a gentlemen, and definitely carried the air of a stuck up rich guy but at the same time, he seemed like the kind of guy who only wanted what he needed, no more and no less.

"Maybe," He answered, which made no sense at all to Inuyasha. He was going to ask what the hell 'maybe' was supposed to mean when he conveniently changed the topic, something Inuyasha noticed he did a lot."let me show you to your room."

Sesshomaru walked up the staircase, not waiting for Inuyasha or bothering to check if he followed. Sighing, he followed him , the other door up the stairs was the guest room. Why he had a guest room he had no idea, he sure didn't look like someone who had a lot of 'guests'.

It was themed red, with floor-length curtains and a soft looking carpet. The bed was full-sized with at least five super-comfy looking pillows and thick cotton bedspread. There was a Cherry wood desk and and wardrobe, too. He was sensing a pattern in the wood choices.

He noticed his head was slightly pounding and his feet and shoulders ached, and he realized he was tired. Which made sense, as he just experienced a fifteen hour plane trip and a pretty frustrating afternoon."Would it be rude if I slept for a while? I'm ridiculously tired." Sesshomaru answered with a shake of his head, and turned to leave him he walked, he muttered a quiet, "I'll be in my room next door." and left.

Throwing off his his pants and coat and not bothering to take off his shirt, Inuyasha literally fell into the bed that looked- and felt- like red velvet cake, and faded away from the waking world into an exhausted sleep.

When he came home that day, when Sango and Kagome told him to take the book home, his mother was sitting on the couch, watching the news channel but not really seeing or listening to it. She just stared blankly at the TV.

"Hey mom," He greeted her, saying it more out of habit than saying for to actually say hi. Just like he expected, he got no response from her. He left to the kitchen to make himself something to eat, not wanting to bother the maid to make something for him.

Just as he was looking through the cabinets for something to eat though, something he didn't expect happened. Something that hadn't happened quiet a few years. His mom spoke to him.

"How was school today?"

Almost dropping the box of cereal he had in his hands, he froze with his mouth open. He answered mechanically with a, "It's a good." without really thinking about what he was saying, shock taking over his communication skills.

Over the top of the couch he could see her nod, and then she went silent again. He waited for her to say something else, and was probably way more hopeful than he should have been, but she didn't speak again. Sighing and feeling infinitely sadder than he had before, he continued making his bowl of cereal and took it with him to his room.

His mom hadn't spoken to him since he was he was seven years old, approximately eleven years ago. It wasn't like he was all the sudden though, the doctor told him she was slowly loosing her grasp on reality. But even still, it was pretty hard to deal with. Even then when he knew what to expect and was adjusted to it to an extent, it still hurt.

Apparently she had been fading before he was even born. It was noticeable too, how she would zome out for long periods of time, and then she'd forget who he was and sometimes called him "Mochiko". He didn't learn what it meant until years later, when his maid explained that that was what she called his dad. She said one of their favorite past-times was baking for the staff every friday, to give them all a treat for having worked so hard. They were are grateful, and felt lucky she said, to have such kind employers.

One of their favorite desserts to make was Mochi, she said. His mom started calling him Mochiko after an incident where he had tripped and spilled the Mochiko powder everywhere, coating himself in white like a ghost in the process.

"But, where is he?" He had asked.

She said he left one year, out of the blue. One day he left for work and never came back, disappearing like smoke in the air. The only thing left behind was the deed to the house, the transferal of his bank account into her name to give her a life-time of money, and a note. No one knew what that note said- his mom would never say.

He gave her everything she needed, his maid said, everything she needed to survive but not the one thing she needed to live. He didn't give her him.

"Why did he leave?" He demanded, feeling frustrated and confused. "Didn't he love momma?"

"Sometimes life isn't enough, child."

"Then whats the point of love? Why have it when it can't even give you a daddy, and takes away your momma?" His maid felt her heart ache when she noticed the tears rolling down his cheeks, while he glared down at his knee caps in anger.

"Baby, what's wrong?" She asked, and received a long moment of silence. His face finally crumpled, and he cried and cried, and didn't even protest when she picked him up and hugged him, petting his hair. He tried to imagine it was his mom's fingers running through his hair, but it just made him cry harder.

Thinking over that moment long ago when he was five, Inuyasha sat on his bed and opened the cheesy romance novel. While he was crying in his maid's arms, was the moment he decided that love didn't exist, that they were only in fairy-tale princess stories and that chasing after them only meant pain.

Stretching out over his temporary bed, Inuyasha felt new and rejuvenated. There was nothing a good nap couldn't fix, in his book. But his euphoria was cut short by his phone ringing next to him, and he groaned. Looking at the caller ID, he groaned even louder.

How was he supposed to explain everything to Kouga? He was already on the edge about him going to Japan without him, how was going to tell him he had no place to stay except at an extremely hot stranger? Just say, "Hey Kouga, I know you're a really jealous person and you don't trust me being alone but, I'm this stranger's house that I just decided to trust for no reason? Oh yeah, and he's WAY sexy." Yeah that wasn't going to happen.

Picking up, he said tiredly, "Hey Kouga."

"Hey, how are you doing over there? You need me to come pick you up yet?" the question was slightly irritating, but he let it ago because he knew he was joking. Kind of.

"No, I don't need you to pick me up." He sat up straight, scratching behind one of his small white dog ears. He heard noise down stares, and wondered if Sesshomaru was making food. He was starving.

"Did you just wake up?" Kouga asked, picking up on the groggy tone he had.

Laying out at the bottom of the bed and reaching for his pants he flung off, he answered, "Yeah, it's been a hectic day."

"Hectic? Hectic how?" Whoops, there goes that overly concerned tone again. Inuyasha thought quick, wondering what he was going to say and how he was going to say it. It was live or die, and he had to make the right choice.

"Eh, um... they uh, they rearranged my stuff. In... my apartment. They clean it for you, you know, when you're gone for so long and I really didn't like it." he waited with bated breath for Kouga's response, if he would believe him or not.

"Rearranged your stuff, huh?" He asked, sounding suspicious.

"Yeah, all of it." He answered back, feeling his heart beat faster in anticipation.

"You're so melodramatic, Inuyasha," Kouga laughed, and instantly the tension lifter from Inuyasha's chest and he could breath again. He forced a laugh back, at the same time cursing himself for lying.

"Other than that though, everything else is good?"

"Yeah, everything is A-Okay."

"Okay then, i'm gonna let you get back to sleep 'cause you sound exhausted. I love you, babe."

"I love you, too." He waited until he heard the dial tone and then dropped back onto his bed, face first, and moaned into his pillows. Ugh, how much trouble did he get himself in?

Finding the strength in himself to get up, he put his trousers back on and stepped out of the room, yawning.

"Hey Sesshomaru, what are you mak-," he froze, looking up to the man standing in Sesshomaru's kitchen.

Who, by the way, wasn't Sesshomaru.


	3. Not A Boyfriend

The awkward was so thick you could slice through it with a butter knife, Inuyasha thought as he stared back at the unknown man in the kitchen, and the unknown man stared back. Well, more like he glared back him with a look that was both extremely suspicious and surprised. Inuyasha noticed he held a spatula suspiciously like a weapon.

"Who are you?" He demanded, unfriendly and point-blank.

Inuyasha shuffled his feet side to side, and tried to think of something to say but for the life of him just couldn't.

He stared up the staircase, silently begging Sesshomaru to come down the stairs and save him from this horrible situation he'd gotten himself into.

"Answer me," The mystery man hissed from the kitchen, making Inuyasha take a step back in shock.

"Um, I... Sesshomaru's letting me stay here while, um, while I'm... doing stuff in... Japan." He muttered, inwardly cringing at how bad that sounded. He looked up and accidentally caught the other incredibly red eye's, flinched and shot his eye's back at the floor.

"Are you supposed to be his whore or something?" Shooting his eye's straight back up in shock, he stared incredulously, almost not believing what he asked.

"What?"

"Are you paid to be here?" He set his spatula on the side of the stove, way to calmly for the anger his entire body language shouted of. "Because if you are, I can guarantee you will be out of this house before you can pack your thing." With that, he strode straight past him and up the staircase, flinging open Sesshomaru's door and slamming it back shut.

Standing there, feeling awkward and out of place, He heard the slow rise of shouting voices and tried his best to block it out and not eavesdrop. He was failing horribly. So, to drown out the conversation he stepped into the living room and switched on the television.

The only things that were on were Japanese talk shows he had never been all that much into, so for the most part he was left to his thoughts, one's that were more than a little hard to ponder.

How was he gonna start looking for his dad? He didn't even know the mans name. As a matter of fact he literally knew nothing about him. They only things he had left behind was a tale about how he left him and his mom and the things she kept of his.

Wait.

That was it!

Back where he had lived last, his mom kept a box of things he left behind. He saw her open a couple times, before she had completely gone mad. He saw her pull out a locket, a pocket watch, and if he remembered right, a wallet. The wallet had to have his name, right?

But, he'd have to get a ride there for starters. Maybe he could ask Sesshomaru, maybe... but god, after being lucky enough to stay at his place, and even managing to piss off his... boyfriend? It might not be the best idea after all to ask him. And then there's also the fact that, he didn't want to go alone. There were too many bad memories in that house.

Flinching at another loud slam behind himself, he turned to watch the mystery man shrugging into a violent and practically jog out of the door, quickly sending Inuyasha a searing glare that forced his gaze back to the T.V..

Slowly turning back around, actually kind of afraid if Sesshomaru was just as angry as well, he was relieved to see Sesshomaru calmly step out of his and sigh, staring at the door the man just stormed out of.

"Hey," Inuyasha called out, gaining his attention. "I don't wanna be impeaching on your personal life or anything, and you don't have to answer me if you don't want but, was that your boyfriend?"

Shaking his head, Sesshomaru answered, "No, he's a long time friend. He likes to act like my boyfriend, is all."

"what's his name?"

"Naraku."

"Oh... Do you have a boyfriends or girlfriend or whatever?"

Walking down the stares, Sesshomaru gave him a curious look. "I'm unattached."

"...Do you want to be? I mean, attached?"

"... Are you asking me out?"

"What? No!," His cheeks blew up with red, feeling stupid he hadn't realized how he was sounding sooner. "No, i'm not! Not that I don't want to- well it is because I don't want to, but it's not like that, I mean you're really hot- I mean attractive I-," He groaned and dropped his head into his knees.

"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru started, and Inuyasha looked up at him. That bastard looked amused, how dare he. "I knew you weren't, it's fine."

Instead of answering he just turned his head to the inside of his knees. He heard Sesshomaru step away into the kitchen, and then the familiar flickering of a stove lighter. The stupid attachment conversation made him think about Kouga and for no reason at all, made him feel guilty. His stomach turned over in it, and he just shake the feeling that he should call Kouga back and tell him the truth. But, he didn't want to deal with the argument.

A plate slide into his peripheral vision, and he saw that Sesshomaru had sat next to him with his own plate.

"I figured you might want something to eat." He said, grabbing the remote and taking a bite out of his food. Flattered and feeling appreciated, Inuyasha mumbled a quiet "Thanks," not used to saying it a whole lot, even to Kouga.

Looking to his plate, he was actually pretty impressed. There was a portion of delicious looking hash next to pale, fluffy pancakes covered in strawberry syrup and slices of fresh strawberry. There was also two sunny-side up eggs, and hot cup of coffee.

"Woah, this looks really good," He said in awe, and didn't wait a moment longer to pick up his fork and dig in. Everything tasted flawless, the hash was fantastic and the pancakes turned out to be apple puff pancakes, his absolute favorite. The coffee was made just the way he loved it too, not too much sugar but lots of milk. "This is really good. How did you learn to make it?"

As soon as he said it, he felt bad, as Sesshomaru visibly became uncomfortable with the topic. Inuyasha was about to take it back, when Sesshomaru tightly said, "When I was living with my parents."

"Oh, I... I'm sorry, I didn't meant to bring up something like that." Inuyasha said quickly, thinking a bit about his own childhood. He didn't know what happened with Sesshomaru, but he could understand why he wouldn't want to talk about it.

Sesshomaru didn't answer back, instead he stayed silent and watched the Television, and Inuyasha accepted just that. Sesshomaru actually managed to find a channel he liked, FX, and lucky for him they were playing Wilfred.

They stayed like that for while, chewing past two episodes and starting on the third- FX was having a marathon- when Sesshomaru finally said something.

"How are you planning on finding out who your father is?"

"Huh?" He asked, distracted.

"I asked, how are you planning on finding your father?" He reiterated.

"Oh... I have a plan." He didn't want to bring it up; he didn't want to be put in the situation of deciding whether he should ask for his help or not. He hoped he would take the hint and not talk about it.

He didn't take the hint, or just didn't care. "What plan."

Sighing, he decided to concede and tell. "I remembered a box my mom used to have, when I was younger, and it had all this stuff from my dad. I think I might at least find out what his name is, and then I Google him I guess."

"Hm," Sesshomaru replied, nodding his head and sipping on his own coffee, never looking away from Inuyasha. He got the feeling Sesshomaru was constantly deep in thought, thinking about this and thinking about that, and it got him self-conscious like nothing else could. He felt like he was under constant scrutiny from him. "Do you want me to give you a ride?"

Honestly surprised he hadn't even asked him, and relieved, he asked, "Are you sure? You really don't have to-"

"I'm taking you, and that's final, am I clear?" And there it was again, scary and demanding Sesshomaru that he really had no choice but to agree with. He nodded, and Sesshomaru stood up picking up the plates and carried them with him to the kitchen, saying over his shoulder, "Be ready in thirty."

Relaxing against the sofa, he realized how tense he was and exhaled deeply, calming the nerves he didn't know were frazzled. He wondered why he got so strung when he was around the older demon, but shrugged it off when he couldn't find an answer and focused on what was important.

He needed clothes.


	4. Family Tree

"So this Joji guy, who is he really?"

Kagome 'tsked' in the way that she does when she about to really get down on her facts, " You see, that's just the thing because one really knows, you know? He never holds any book signing or meets and basically, never leaves wherever it is he live, which no one know either. On the back of the book, where it usually has an authors bio and says where they live and stuff, all it says is 'Joji likes to spend him time writing his books, and being alone.' or something along those lines."

"Yeah, it's a huge mystery in the fan-base," Sango contributed. "He has a pretty big one, by the way, he written a lot of books. He really does like to spend most of his time writing, I guess. People are so starved for information that last year they made up this whole rumor about him, and it got into the press even.

"Really?" If anyone was the new-guru around Tokyo, it was probably Inuyasha. He was an aspiring journalist, and that meant he had to be 'in-the-know', so it was more than a shock to him to find out there was a scandal that he missed out on.

"Yeah, it started out small on the internet, but the story got passed around and the newpaper found out about it and tried to pass it as true." She messed around in her mashed potatoes- if you could call them that- looking uncomfortable. "It was a pretty bad rumor, actually. It involved all this childhood abuse and stuff, and it just made me feel really sick, especially when I thought it was true. It still makes me really sad, to be honest."

"Well, what was it?"

"The rumor was that his mom was crazy, basically," Sango said, looking completely comfortable with the topic, as opposed to Kagome who had the emotional backbone of a kicked puppy. "They sad that when he was young, his mom would alternate between loving him and protecting, being the standard mom, but then she would throw him down flights of stairs and try to drown him in the bathtub when she was bathing him. She would say stuff that ranged from 'You're my baby, I love you' to 'You aren't my child, die!'" She growled, holding her spoon in a menacing manner, imitating Joji''s rumor-mother.

"But that's just the rumor. His editor discredited the entire thing, and made the newspaper company admit they'd gotten the story online, without any evidence. And that was that." She took a bit of her broccoli, made a face, and then spat it out. He noticed Kagome giggle and pull out a napkin to wipe away the food caught in Sango's lips, and he noticed how Sango smiled back. He himself smiled at them, and shook his head.

"So, Inuyasha," Kagome addressed, "How's life at home? You don't talk much about it anymore, is your mom okay?"

Hearing about him, his stomach dropped as he remembered the doctor's visit to his house that morning. "Yeah, she's okay..."

"Inuyasha, we know that face, what's wrong?" Sango asked, concern lacing her voice, which always pressured Inuyasha to tell the truth. Sango wasn't one to get worried for many people, and since Inuyasha was one of the lucky few who got that privilege, he felt obligated to follow through. It was the least he could do, he felt.

Sighing and pushing back his inner instinct to hide all his problems, he said, "My mom's sick. She has cancer."

Once again, there was an awkward tension between him and Sesshomaru as they drived toward his old home. It was like whenever he was around him- BOOM, awkward silence, awkward tension, awkward everything. It was stifling and it was uncomfortable, and frankly Inuyasha wished it would fucking stop. But what could you do when you sat next to someone so... handsome, and so mysteriously silent, and just all around alluring? Inuyasha felt inadequate, and that led him to feel like he needed to impress, and that led to the awkward that was all around him.

Feeling like he should say something, but having no idea what to say was one of the most frustrating things to experience, in his opinion.

"Were is it?" Sesshomaru's deep voice knocked Inuyasha out of his internal musing, and forced him to focus more on the destination than the tension between them- which he was more than thankful for.

"You just keep straight until you hit Hiroshi St., then make a left and it should be about half a mile down," He offered, slowly feeling the rise on anxiety in his chest. He remembered these streets and he was getting a strong sense of nostalgia, but it wasn't the good kind. He was starting to remember all those closed of years he's been through with his mother slowly wasting away, and the days she finally passed.

Those weren't memories he was keen on revisiting.

But soon enough, or too soon in his opinion, he saw his old home loom into view, and he told Sesshomaru stop while barely thinking about it. It looked completely different, but also exactly the same. It was the same old house, with the same old garden out front that seemed to last forever, with the same old stone walk way. It was still three stories and as strong looking as ever, but the peach paint on the outside was beyond cracked, and the garden had long sense died, and the ground was covered in snow and dead leaves.

Sneaking up behind him, Sesshomaru almost gave Inuyasha a heart attack, suddenly saying, "I had no idea you lived an upper-class life."

"Oh, yeah." He grabbed at his chest, trying to still his over-working heart. "My mom wasn't rich herself- as a matter-of-fact, she never worked a day in her life- but my dad left behind a pretty steep bank account in her name."

"I see."

"Yeah..." He stood there and stared, more than a little scared, but bit back his fear, and said, "Well, lets go."

When he opened the door, he was honestly surprised by the level of dust and cobwebs coating everything. He should have guessed it wouldn't look pretty, judging from the outside but it still shocked him. He spun around as Sesshomaru walked in through the door, and he felt a little bit like crying.

This was his home, for some many years and now it was just a decrepit pile of wood that had once been valuable, but in less than three years was turned into something that looked like it'd traveled from last century. A wave of guilt hit him, and a tear escaped his eye and silently rolled down his cheek as he thought about what his mother would think if she could see how he'd let the place get to. But he had no choice, he couldn't stand the pain of being there anymore, not without her.

He felt something soft touch his cheek, and looked up to see that Sesshomaru had noticed him crying and wiped his cheek with his handkerchief. His expression remained emotionless, as it always had, but what he really felt shone in his eye's. It wasn't pity, which Inuyasha hated, and it wasn't concern. It was soft, and understanding and welcoming. And for a reason Inuyasha really couldn't understand, he dropped his head onto the older's shoulder, and Sesshomaru responded with an embracing hug, that was both tight and gentle, and entirely warm.

He was thankful that Sesshomaru couldn't see his face at this angle, although he didn't know how he'd respond with eye sized wet spots on his wool coat. Hopefully he wouldn't say anything, Inuyasha thought, pulling away from the comforting embrace of the other. He inhaled deeply, calming himself, and said, "I'm... I'm gonna look for that box." getting a nod in reply, he turned to climb the stairway leading his mother's old room.

Standing behind the door, he almost wished he had asked Sesshomaru to come up here with him. But on the other hand, he wasn't confident if he was going to cry again, and he wasn't confident that it was going to be containable. So kicking his pain to the back of his mind, he turned the door knob and opened the it, peeking in to the dark room.

The curtains were pulled shut, and he could barely make out the outline of the bed or anything else. Stepping inside carefully, so as not to step on anything, he made his way over to windows at the back. His foot hit something hard, tripping him and sent his crashing against the wall.

"Are you okay?" he heard Sesshomaru shout from down stairs.

"I'm fine!" he shouted back. "I just tripped over something, that's all."

Lucky for him, the wall he fell against had the windows and quickly, he pulled them back, showering the room with the late morning light of winter. The walls were the same as he remembered them, peach and dark brown stripes, and all the furniture was in the same place coated with a thin layer of dust. The bed still had the impression of his mother on it, when she was in her final days and couldn't move from it. He avoided looking at it.

The only thing different was the floor. Knocked over was his mothers old rocking-chair, broken into pieces. Kneeling down, he picked up a piece that he was sure used to be the curve that made the rocking possible, confused.

"This must be what I tripped over." But why did he trip over it? He wasn't supposed to trip on it- it wasn't supposed to be broken. This place was still his in name, and he hadn't hired anyone to come and clean or to check up on it. Sure, some kids could've broken in and messed with the place, but if that was the case why was everything the same except for the chair?

Standing, he looked around the rest of the room, making note that practically everything else was exactly how it had been left. Everything except for-

Crap, the box.

Stepping quickly over the broken wood, his heart dropped when he realized the box, the box that had all his dad's stuff, the box that was supposed to have been on the night stand next to the bed, was gone.

"No, no no no..." He muttered as he looked underneath and around the nightstand for the box, and even took a look underneath the bed but came up with nothing. He only left behind to show that it was there was the small rectangle of surface that was untouched by dust, signifying that it was taken not too long ago.

Feeling the onslaught of a panic attack, he started gasping and sat on the bed. Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, he tried to think rationally and logically. So, the box was gone. There goes his chance of finding out his dad's name, he guessed.

But, there were other ways, right? People who were adopted found their real parents all the time, with little to no beginning clues. But, then again, it took most of them years to find their parents and he really didn't have years, so...

Okay, he was panicking again. What he needed to do, was to number one: calm the fuck down, and number two: get Sesshomaru and get out. He definitely had his fill of his old place for one day (more like, for the whole month), and just wanted to leave and maybe convince Sesshomaru to make him some hot cocoa, his he had any. He didn't want to think about the missing box, or the fact that he might not be able to find out about his dad after all, he just wanted to sleep for the rest of eternity, if he could.

Standing up and making his way down the stairs, feeling tired and extremely depressed, he called out, "Sesshomaru, I'm done, I-" He stopped short when he heard Sesshomaru's voice, sounding like he was talking with someone. Not being able to stave of his curiosity, he creeped slowly to were Sesshomaru's voice came from.

Stopping behind the kitchen door, he peeked inside to see Sesshomaru leaning against the counter, holding a phone close to his ear.

"Naraku, I'm not throwing him out, okay? That's not up for negotiation."

Naraku? That super scary guy with the red eye's who yelled at him just that morning? It sounded like they were talking about him too, because who else would he be throwing out, right? So, he figure, that automatically made him part of the conversation, and made eavesdropping okay.

Besides, he might hear something that would lighten his mood.

He heard a muted voice on the other line, which with his hearing he could tell wasn't pleased, but he couldn't tell what he was saying.

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Sesshomaru responded to whatever Naraku said with, "I don't see why you think it's such a problem. It's not like he's going to trash the place, and ruin all the hard work you always put into cleaning it."

More voice came from the other side, and Inuyasha noticed Sesshomaru's shoulders slightly tense before saying, "He's not going to find out."

Stepping back in surprise, Inuyasha stared out at the back of Sesshomaru's coat. He wasn't going to 'find out'? Find out what? That worried Inuyasha more than he's like to admit.

"I'll make sure I'm careful around him, okay?" After a moment of silence, the voice on the other end spoke, to which Sesshomaru responded, "I promise. Good-bye."

Waiting a couple seconds after he had hung up the phone and slunched against the counter and brought a hand to his face, Inuyasha walked through the door, actually making Sesshomaru jump. Trust, it was pretty funny. Unfortunately though, Inuyasha found it a little hard to laugh at.

"Did you find the box?"

"No, I- I didn't. I guess its not here." This time, Sesshomaru did look concerned.

"You don't look well," gently wrapping his arm around his waist, he led him to the front door and out. "You need to rest."

Inuyasha, instead of instantly questioning Sesshomaru on his phone call with Naraku like he normally would have, Fatigue pushed him to lean against Sesshomaru as he lead him to his car. After all of the emotional confusion, he didn't want to do anything to exacerbate it.

When Sesshomaru's arm left him after helping him in the car, Inuyasha kind of hated himself for missing it.

Literally the only thing he wanted he wanted to do when Sesshomaru and him arrived back at the apartment was collapse on his bed and knock out. But there was something he needed to do first, before he went to bed. He had promised, and he was actually late on keeping it.

"Hey, Sesshomaru," He started, before Sesshomaru had the chance to retire to his room. "Do you have a computer I can use, by any chance?" He really hated that he kept asking for favors, but like an idiot he didn't bring his laptop with him. Next time he left somewhere, he needed to remember to bring at least a change of clothes.

It didn't seem like Sesshomaru minded though, he nodded and said, "Hold on."

He left and walked upstairs, leaving Inuyasha waiting no more than a couple minutes for him to come back down with a large, beautiful laptop.

"Geez, this laptop is gorgeous," He appraised, holding it delicately and admiring the design. Opening it up, the keys light up blue and everything was high-tech looking. He didn't know a lot about computers, but he could tell this one was a really good one. "What brand is this?"

"Alienware, I think. Naraku bought it for me last month." He didn't seem to care much about brand it was, which figured. Sesshomaru may have a lot of money, but he was the type of guy who didn't care about what brand he got, only as long as he got it.

"Oh..." he commented, but Sesshomaru ignored it. He was busy putting things together to make something to eat, it looked like. Silently, Inuyasha stole away to his room.

Plopping down and fighting the urge to to throw the laptop to the side and pass out, he opened it up, turned it on, and logged onto his Gmail account. He sent an IM to his long time friend, Kagome. In no time at all, she responded.

"Its about time u got back to me! I waited all day for you to IM, what were you doing?!"

"It's a long story"

"Well, it just so happens that I have time. Spill"

"Well, it turned out I don't have an apartment anymore. They evicted me without me knowing"

"WTF? How can they do that? Is that even legal?"

"Yeah, I guess, but whatever u know? I managed to get a place to stay."

"Really, are you staying at the mansion?"

"Good god, no, I met someone I can stay with."

"Wait, met? You mean like on the streets? Inuyasha, that's dangerous!"

"You use a lot of question marks, you know that"

"That's beside the point! Inuyasha, you don't know this guy, he could be some murderer, or a rapist, or- or something, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Kagome, calm down, he's totally cool. He's been nice."

"Well, if you're sure... Btw, how's your search going."

Ugh, he should have known she would ask about the search. He really didn't want to talk about it, but with Kagome he never really had much of a choice.

"It's not really going so well."

"Really? what happened?"

"Idk, I had this idea to find out his name by finding that box my mom always had with her, that had all his stuff but it's not there anymore."

"Do you think you forgot you put it in storage or...?"

"No, I didn't touch anything when I moved out. Beside, there wasn't dust where I saw it last. Like someone took it recently."

"But who woulds have been to your house in the last three years? It wasn't me or Sango, I'll tell you that much"

"I know, I trust you. I just don't know who would even want that box, it's not like I knew a whole lot of people. But I can't bode on it, I need to figure out another way to get his name- without it I cant find out anything about him, let alone what happened between him and my mom."

"I know, I know... well, maybe you could come over and I can help? We could search him up online, you know, how about it?"

"You'll help me?"

"Yeah, what are friends for?"

"Gee, thanks Kagome, I'd really appreciate that."

"No problem : ). So, when are you gonna come over? Tonight would be best; Sango's not working and we'd both be pretty excited to see you."

Tonight? Could he do that? He could ask Sesshomaru if he wanted to drive him again, maybe. But on the other hand, did he really want Sesshomaru to go?

He hated inconveniencing him, but more than that, he was still pretty suspicious about his conversation on the phone with Naraku. Sure he didn't know that it was him they were talking about, but who else could it be? They were even talking about him immediately before he said the weird stuff about 'finding out', and there didn't seem like there was slot of segue from that topic to the next.

But, he not only wanted, but needed to go to Kagome's. For one thing, he hadn't seen either of the girls for three years and he found himself pretty excited to hang out with them again. And for the second thing, he needed to find out more about his dad and what better time than now? He wanted to get back home to Kouga as fast as he could after all.

That left him with only one choice. He was walking.

"Yeah, I can come tonight. Whats your address?"

It turns out Kagome and Sango didn't live that far away. After a solid two and a half blocks, he found himself out side their apartment door, waiting for them to let him in from the cold.

Kagome flung the door open not too long after he knocked, and he had to say she had really grown. In her height and her chest. And, as he saw glancing down, her hips. She was a true bombshell beauty, and he was sure that every guy who saw her on the streets prayed they had a chance with her. But, as anyone who knew her where to say, there wasn't a chance in hell.

"Inuyasha!," She squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. She jumped forward and locked him in one of her famous bear hugs, and damn near chocked him to death with her breasts. He hugged back while simultaneously trying to gasp needed air back into his lungs.

"Kagome, let him go, he can't breathe!" He heard Sango say, and finally he could breathe when Sango pulled Kagome back away from him.

Sango for the most part, looked the same. She had been beautifully curvy in High school, and she was beautifully curvy now. The only change was now, her muscled where coiled twice as tight and he was able to look straight forward and meet her eye's.

"Damn, Sango, you look good." He commented, and Sango smiled and stood straighter, showing the body she was proud of. "You look like you could take me out with one hit."

"I hope so. I didn't train to become a cop for no reason." She turned and beckoned with her hand to come in, disappearing into the doorway with Kagome one her heels.

The living room of the apartment was exactly what he expected it to be like. It was warm and welcoming, themed with shades of brown. There was candles on a nightstand in the corner, and a bookshelf a safe distance away from it that was packed with all the fantasy books Kagome liked to read. It was dim and already he felt like falling on the couch and never waking up, but he fought to stay awake.

He heard Kagome and Sango muttering in the kitchen, and following the noise he found them making several cups of tea. Kagome saw him and held up a fancy tea cup, asking, "Do you want any tea?"

"Oh, yeah sure." Normally, he didn't drink tea. But he happened to know that Kagome had a British fetish of sorts and only made her tea with black, with milk and sugar, and that type of tea he was fine with.

She made it just like how he liked it, something she remembered back when they hung out in High School, and set the cups on the table. She disappeared into the hallway, leaving Inuyasha and Sango alone in the kitchen.

"Want to sit?" Sango offered, sitting down herself. Inuyasha nodded and sat across from her.

"So, how's life in L.A.?"

"Well it's a lot like Tokyo, except the people are ruder and there a lot more crime, and it's hot year around but other than that it's like being back at home."

She laughed, and said, "I wish it was hot here, but the sky just has to freeze all the damn time. What about that guy you're staying with over here, the one Kagome told me about?"

"Oh, you mean Sesshomaru."

"Wait, Sesshomaru?" The look on her face told him she knew who Sesshomaru was. It also told him she wasn't expecting it to be him.

"Yeah, Sesshomaru, why?" Sango was a cop, and if she knew about him, it made Inuyasha rethink about Kagome's theory on him being a murderer.

"Oh, it's nothing bad really. It's just, hes kind of made a name for himself around this part of the city, which is impressive for someone who never leaves his place." She took a sip of her Tea, grimaced and set the cup down. Kagome probably put to much sugar in it. While Sango though along the lines of 'the blacker the better', Kagome believed in reducing the liquid to a sludge like form with sugar. "Anyway, the thing about Sesshomaru is no one know what he's about, which makes a lot of people curious. We've only ever seen him talk to, or invite over, one guy and that's it. No one knows where he comes from or what he does for a living."

"But, once every Saturday night, he goes the Nanako park and sits there, all night long. He just stares into the night and leaves right before it gets bright. I reckon it scares a lot of people, thinking maybe he's crazy and one days he's going to snap and take everyone out. But I say, 'eh, whatever'. If seen a lot of nutters and he looks sane enough; and as long as he isn't disturbing the peace, he can do whatever he wants in my opinion."

"Wow..." He said, not coming up with anything good to say to all that information. He just thought Sesshomaru was being courteous to him while he was staying with him, but apparently he was like that all the time.

He opened his mouth to say something more, but Kagome came through the hallway door, saying, "I got it!"

"You've got what?" they both asked at once.

"I've got your dad, right here on this web-page!" She plopped down into the seat next to Sango, looking very much pleased with herself.

"Really?" He asked, jumping up and walking behind her to get a better look at the screen. And as she said, there his family tree was, showing the marriage between Izayoi Hayashi and a man named Inu-Taisho Takahashi which resulted in a boy named Inuyasha Takahashi.

"Inu-Taisho," He read, sounding out the name on his own tongue. It was exotic, he'll give him that. Looking up his dad's tree line, he recognized a pattern of exotic old-school names, some he couldn't even pronounce. His eye caught something to the left of his dad's name, and staring confused, he asked, "Kagome does this mean- Is that another wife?"

"Yeah, but it looks like it was over a couple years before he married your mom. Speaking of which, you didn't tell me you had a brother."

Snapping his head to the side to stare at her, he asked, "A what?"

"A brother," She confirmed. But at his expression her face dropped, and she asked, "You... didn't know?"

Instead of answering, he looked back at the screen, looking for the offspring section of the tree Inu-Taisho and his ex-wife. His eye's locked onto it and there it was, a distinct box for a male boy, who would be his half-brother.

The box read, Name: Unknown.


	5. Stresses

"A fucking brother?" Inuyasha damn near shouted, so loud Kagome shushed him, but both she and Sango looked at him sympathetically. They couldn't imagine what it'd feel like to find out they had missing family, and honestly they didn't want to. But they certainly didn't want Inuyasha to feel it.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said softly, trying to think of something to say but couldn't think of anything that might make him feel any better. He backed away from the computer, stunned and wanting so badly to not believe it, but he couldn't deny what his own eyes told him.

"I- How am I supposed to-," His thoughts were spazing out so badly he couldn't articulate right. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, and blew it out, calming himself to a point where he could at least talk. "I don't even know how I'm gonna find what I need about my dad, or what I even need to find, how the fuck am I going to find a brother who I know nothing about."

There it went, the anxiety was rising again. He tried to breathe deeply again, but it came out more like gasping wheezes. He collapsed into a seat and tried to breathe, making Kagome and Sango shoot up unanimously in concern and rushed over to him.

"If you don't calm down, you're gonna give yourself a panic attack," Sango said, rubbing his back in soothing circles while Kagome sat close and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace. Normally, he would have shoved them away in embarrassment, but at the moment he was grateful for the comfort.

"I know, I'm trying," he muttered, slowly calming down. He reached out and put his arm around both Kagome and Sango without thinking and brought them closer, silently distressing over the new development in his life.

A brother. He had always wanted a brother, actually. If he had one, maybe he wouldn't have been so lonely when he was younger. While his mother was lost in her own mind, he could have had someone to play sports with, to talk to, to even argue with. But he accepted the fact that he wouldn't have one, and that was the end of that. He came to Japan to get complete his story, only to find another chapter.

"That isn't what I wanted to happen." He sighed.

"It'll be okay, Inuyasha," Kagome reassured him. "Look, you have your dads name now, so you worry about your dad. Sango and I are internet ninja's, we'll look for your brother, okay?"

Feeling the edge of hope creeping in, he asked hesitantly, "Really?" he looked up from Kagome to Sango, "You guys would do that for me?"

"Of course we would," Sango replied with ease, without hesitation he noticed. "You're our best friend, we'd do anything for you short of murder, and that's even negotiable."

He laughed. "Sango, you're a cop."

"Exactly, no one would suspect."

They all laughed, and instantly he felt so much better. It was amazing how easily they could turn his mood around. He really missed the old days when they would hang out after school at one of their houses, and do everything under the sun except for their homework. How they passed was a mystery, he and Sango barley made it by the skin of their teeth while somehow Kagome passed with flying colors. He was still convinced she was a wizard or something.

"Thank you, both of you," He squeezed them in a close embrace, and kissed each of their heads 'cause he was just in that of a loving mood. "You guys are great."

"Don't worry about it," Kagome kissed him back on the cheek.

Inuyasha slammed the door behind himself, feeling exhausted and was half sure that if he didn't get to a bed soon, he would just drop on the floor and sleep how he'd land. His eyes burned, his joints ached, and his conscious mind was quitting on him.

But, unfortunately for him, someone in the kitchen had other plans.

"Where were you?" Sesshomaru asked, damn near giving Inuyasha a heart attack.

"You scared me!" he gasped, holding a palm to his chest. He was way too tired for this type of crap. "What did you say?"

"I said where were you?" This time, Inuyasha heard the tone Sesshomaru was using. He was upset, like a parent reprimanding their kid being out late kind of upset.

"I was... at a friends house." He said, confused.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sesshomaru asked, stepping around the kitchen counter to stand in front of it, folding his arms and stared him, with the kind of look that makes you want to step back and evaluate how well you've lived your life thus far.

But it wasn't in Inuyasha's nature to back down.

"Why would I have to?" He stepped closer, crossing his own arms over his chest. He wasn't his mother, and he just because he was staying at his place didn't mean he could act like it either.

Sesshomaru stayed silent, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he tried to think of an adequate answer. Eventually he sighed and his mood deflated, and he leaned back against the counter behind him. "You don't. I'm sorry." He ran his fingers back through his hair, showing off a crescent moon on his forehead that Inuyasha had never seen before.

There was dark circles under his eye's, Inuyasha noticed, and his hair was considerably less neat than it was when he saw him earlier.

"You don't look very good," he commented, walking around the counter to join him in the kitchen. The kitchen, now that he was in it, was a lot bigger than he originally thought. He stood next to Sesshomaru who was gazing into the fridge, looking at nothing.

"I'm fine," he answered immediately, grabbing a bottle of Strawberry Lemonade.

"Dude, you look sick. What're are you stressing about?" Sesshomaru ignored him and pulled a cup from a cupboard. Inuyasha exhaled deeply through his nose, frustrated at Sesshomaru's inability to communicate his problems. Sure, they only knew each other for a few days, but that wasn't stopping him him.

He walked up and stole Sesshomaru's cup away, and gave him a stern look. Sesshomaru stared back with equal intensity, but eventually gave in and looked down at the counter.

"It's work, you don't have to worry about it. Just worry about what you came here to do, okay?" Inuyasha had half a mind to keep insisting he tell him, but the way he said it kept him from pressuring him. Sesshomaru sounded worn down, and he didn't ant to add any baggage to day.

He nodded, and said, "Fine. I'll just go to bed." He waited for a reply but got none, so he waved his hand to say 'night' and left to climb the stairs to his guest room. He shut the door silently behind him, sucked in a lungs worth of air and dropped onto his bed.

In no time at all, he was sound asleep.


End file.
